Maharashtra sacks 3,148 striking doctors

The Maharashtra government expelled 3,148 resident doctors from 18 government and civic hospitals on Saturday as they continued with their strike, ignoring repeated appeals from the government to withdraw it, reports Neha Bhayana.

The Maharashtra government expelled 3,148 resident doctors from 18 government and civic hospitals on Saturday as they continued with their strike, ignoring repeated appeals from the government to withdraw it.

The doctors rejected the state’s offer of a Rs 6,000-hike in their salary.

Resident doctors, who have been on strike since Tuesday, are demanding that their salary be increased to Rs 30,000 —at par with doctors in public hospital in other states.

“We had given a 24-hour notice to the students but they have not called off their strike, so we have issued termination notices to their respective colleges,” said medical education secretary Bhushan Gagrani.

“We will continue to strike till the government relents,” said Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) president Dr Jeevan Rajput.

In the afternoon, the doctors held talks with state health authorities, which was inconclusive.

The five-day strike in which doctors demanded enhancement of stipend and improved living conditions among others, paralysed public health care in the state.

The government had earlier appealed to the doctors to join duty and serve patients who had to return without receiving proper medical care, and to tackle a possible spurt in monsoon-related diseases.

The government had threatened to take action against the doctors under the Essential Services Maintenance Act, 2005 if they did not join their duties.